Rep. Burgess Owens (R-UT) broke the collective silence among the Utah congressional delegation on Thursday regarding the state’s latest congressional map, which came out on Nov. 11.
Utah is in the midst of a redistricting battle brought on by the League of Women Voters of Utah, Mormon Women for Ethical Government, and Better Boundaries. This coalition came together to oppose the congressional map drawn in 2021 and created a new one that Utah Third District Judge Dianna Gibson approved last week. Until Thursday, all four congresspeople in the state had refused to comment on the matter, even though it affected all of their districts.
Owens issued a statement after former Rep. Ben McAdams launched his campaign for the newly drawn First district, which would take from Owens’s current Fourth district. McAdams was the last Democratic representative to win a seat in Utah in 2018, where he served for a single term in the state’s Fourth Congressional District.
Owens directed his comments in a letter to Gibson.
“I write this letter with deep sorrow and unmistakable resolve. Sorrow, because it is painful to watch a Utah judge abandon the restraint, balance, and humility that our system depends upon,” Owens wrote. “Resolve, because the people of Utah deserve someone willing to speak plainly about what your actions have done to our representative government. You have acted as the architect of Utah’s congressional map, using timing and authority to impose an outcome that was never chosen by the people.”
Gibson ruled that Utah’s Proposition 4 — a state ballot initiative that passed in 2018, which bans partisan gerrymandering — stands as “the only valid law on redistricting,” despite a 2020 law that repealed it. This 2020 law gave the independent redistricting commission a largely advisory role, but Gibson ruled that the law did not “advance a compelling state interest.”
“Your rulings did not correct the system,” Owens continued. “They commandeered it. You took the mapmaking authority that belongs to the people’s representatives and claimed it for the bench. You betrayed the balance of powers that protects Utah’s citizens, and you bastardized the process that has ensured accountability in our representation for more than a century.”
The lack of comment is especially notable from Rep. Blake Moore (R-UT), who previously criticized a redistricting effort in Texas. Moore also served as co-chairman of Better Boundaries, the bipartisan coalition behind the 2018 proposition to establish an independent redistricting commission. The group included Republicans, Democrats, and independents.
UTAH LAWMAKERS HAVE MIXED REACTION TO NEW CONGRESSIONAL MAP
Moore’s First District, which would become the Second District under the new map, is the least affected by the changes.
The Washington Examiner has reached out to Owens, Moore, and Reps. Celeste Maloy (R-UT) and Mike Kennedy (R-UT) for comment.